Blue Dragon Still On Track for 2006

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Mistwalker's debut title will hit Japan later this year.

By Anoop Gantayat

A lack of media and info has caused some to speculate that Blue Dragon, Microsoft's big Xbox 360 Japanese RPG, would be hit with a delay past its target Japanese release of 2006. That won't be the case, according to Microsoft's big man in Japan, Takashi Sensui. Speaking with Famitsu Xbox 360, Sensui said, "Blue Dragon will without question be released this year."

So that takes care of one Mistwalker game. But what about Lost Odyssey? Development on both Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey is, according to Sensui, "proceeding well." While Sensui didn't share any further comments on Lost Odyssey, a separate column in the issue suggested that details on a demo version of the game will be announced in the near future, perhaps making it into the magazine's next issue, which is set for release on 9/30.

Sensui discussed a number of other issues with Famitsu Xbox 360, but continued the tradition of Japanese Xbox executives failing to give any juicy new information in interviews. On the possibility of a 360 price drop, Sensui repeated earlier statements by his US-based overlords by stating, "at this time, we're not considering a price drop." Famitsu reminded Sensui that Microsoft had promised details at some point in the summer on the Tri-Ace game that was announced in April. To this, Sensui replied, "We'll give a report on the progress at an appropriate time."

He also made sure to point out that Microsoft has more than Blue Dragon on the way, making note of Gears of War and Forza Motor Sports 2 as big year-end titles for the system. Make no mistake, though, in Japan, Blue Dragon is the big game, the one title that will separate Xbox 360 from the Xbox. We'll hopefully get some play time at the Tokyo Game Show in late September.